RiverPlace Development Corp. is shelving some long-term projects and trimming staff over concerns that it won't be able to find funding because the economy is bad.

The community-based nonprofit initiative hopes to revive recreational and economic development projects planned for both sides of the Schuylkill River once the economy rebounds.

"Our hope is that this scaling back is temporary, not permanent," said John P. Weidenhammer, chairman of RiverPlace's board of directors. "We are not going out of business, we are trying to be responsible and realistic."

Over the next six months the organization will shift to an all-volunteer staff while completing some recreation projects already under way, Weidenhammer said. Two paid staffers will be laid off.

Given the economic climate, RiverPlace directors did not believe they could continue to raise that level of revenue, he said. They also did not want to compete with social services organizations for donations, Weidenhammer said.

The transition to a volunteer staff will reduce the organization's annual expenses to less than $70,000, including the rent it pays for offices in the GoggleWorks, Weidenhammer said.

RiverPlace was born out of a master plan developed three years ago that laid out a long-term development strategy for the riverfront.

That plan included a redesigned interchange on the Penn Street Bridge and a boardwalk in West Reading.

RiverPlace has completed some projects, including planting cherry trees and installing solar lighting along portions of the Thun Trail, which parallels the Schuylkill.

Reading Mayor Thomas McMahon said RiverPlace is doing the right thing in the face of the ongoing recession.

"It just needs to be on hiatus," McMahon said. "No one likes to lose momentum, but that is the reality right now."